The present invention relates to drainage structure of weather strips installed along door opening edges of retractable roof vehicles including convertible vehicles or hard top vehicles, that make elastic contact with door glasses to seal outside and inside of vehicles.
FIG. 6 is an external view of one type of retractable roof vehicles of which roofs that open and close are folded to open. The roof comprises a soft top 1 which is folded and put away in a trunk 2 on a lower rear side of a vehicle. Another roof of the retractable roof vehicle comprises a roof panel and a back window panel at the back of the roof panel instead of the soft top 1, which are folded and put away in the trunk 2 while the roof panel as folded is piled on the back window panel. Such vehicles are generally called retractable hard top, coupe cabriolet or coupe convertible.
In the retractable roof vehicle, a front pillar 4 and the soft top 1 as an opening edge of a door 3 have a weather strip 10 installed on side edges thereof via tape 20 (alternatively, the weather strip 10 may also be fit in holders including retainers). The weather strip 10 makes elastic contact with a door glass (side glass) 5 that lifts or lowers when the door 3 is closed to seal outside and inside of the vehicle.
As shown in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, the weather strip 10 installed on the side edge of the front pillar 4 comprises an extrusion molded part 101 and die molded parts 102, 103 which are connected to the extrusion molded part 101 and are respectively on an upper side and a lower side of a vehicle when the weather strip 10 is assembled on the vehicle. The die molded part 102 on the upper side is connected to an edge of a header weather strip 9 installed on a header 7 which fixes an upper end of a front glass 6 whereas the die molded part 103 on the lower side has a gusset 21 installed thereon, which is unified with a door mirror (not shown).
The weather strip 10 comprises: an installation base member 11 having the tape 20 adhered thereon; a hollow seal part 12 integrally molded with the installation base member 11, which makes elastic contact with a top end 5a of the door glass 5 that lifts or lowers; and a seal lip 13 extending from a lower side of the hollow seal part 12 toward an outer-cabin side, which makes elastic contact with an inner-cabin side surface of the of the door glass 5 that lifts or lowers. A top end of the seal lip 13 makes elastic contact with the inner-cabin side surface of the door glass 5 in such a manner as to curve upward, thereby forming an eaves-trough-shaped water receiving part 14 on a base root side thereof.
The seal lip 13 has a hollow part 15 provided on an inner-cabin side thereof. The hollow part 15 has a lip 16 on the inner-cabin side thereof which abuts interior material (not shown) including garnish.
The die molded part 103 on the lower side of the weather strip 10 has a drainage hole 22 formed thereon which bores from the water receiving part 14 to the hollow part 15 so that water 130 guided from an upper side of the weather strip 10 to the water receiving part 14 on a lower side is further guided to the hollow part 15 via the drainage hole 22. The water 130 (131) guided to the hollow part 15 is drained outside the vehicle from a front side of the vehicle.
Various techniques have been adopted concerning the drainage structure of the weather strips of which hollow seal part and seal lip make elastic contact respectively with the top end and the inner-cabin side surface of the door glass that lifts or lowers, thereby doubly-sealing the door glass from an upper side and a lower side (see the Japanese unexamined Patent Publications No. 2006-264594 and 10-71860).
The Japanese unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-264594 discloses to mold only a water receiving lip of the die molded part on the upper side by solid rubber, which protrudes toward the outer-cabin side compared with the door glass and receives water dripping from a soft top. The Japanese unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-71860 discloses to form a seal lip on a parting on a top end of the soft top in such a manner as to protrude toward the outer-cabin side so that the seal lip receives the water which flows along the soft top.
According to the ordinary weather strip 10 shown in FIG. 10, when the glass 5 lifts up, the top end 5a of the door glass 5 is wrapped up by a lower side wall surface 12b of the hollow seal part 12, which is thrust up and curved by the top end 5a. Accordingly, even in case the door glass 5 is subjected to high pressure water of car washing, the water 130 is prevented from entering the inner-cabin side from the outer-cabin side via a space between the top end 5a of the door glass 5 and the lower side wall surface 12b of the hollow seal part 12. In addition, in case the water 130 enters the inner-cabin side, the water 130 that flows down an inner-cabin side surface of the door glass 5 is dammed up by the seal lip 13 and is guided to the water receiving part 14.
Unfortunately, however, the high pressure water 130 of car washing directly poured on the weather strip 10 shown in FIG. 10 as well as the water 130 of rain and car washing shown in FIG. 7 flowed down from the soft top 1 collects on an outer-cabin side edge 110 of the lower side wall surface 12b forming the hollow seal part 12, that is a connecting part of an outer-cabin side wall surface 12a forming the hollow seal part 12 in the same manner as the lower side wall surface 12b and the lower side wall surface 12b (the water that collects on the outer-cabin side edge 110 of the lower side wall surface 12b is painted over with black in FIG. 10). The water 130 that collects on the outer-cabin side edge 110 of the lower side wall surface 12b flows along the outer-cabin side edge 110 which is a longitudinal direction in which the weather strip 10 extends (in a front direction of the vehicle at this place), reaches a top end on a front side of the door glass 5 without entering the drainage hole 22 and collects on the gusset 21. Such a structure has caused problems that the collected water 130 (132) enters vehicle interior and causes water leak when the door 3 is opened.
In addition, when the door glass 5 is subjected to high pressure water as shown in FIG. 10, the water 130 directly reaches a part of the lower side wall surface 12b which is on the inner-cabin side compared with the outer-cabin side edge 110 and on the outer-cabin side compared with the door glass 5. Also, a part of the water 130, which collects on the outer-cabin side edge 110 of the lower side wall surface 12b advances and is transmitted to a space between the top end 5a of the door glass 5 and the lower side wall surface 12b of the hollow seal part 12 for the effect of capillary phenomenon. In both cases, the water 130 flows down in a frontward direction along the edge of the top end 5a of the door glass 5 and collects on the gusset 21 without entering the drainage hole 22. Such a structure has caused a problem that the collected water 130 (132) enters the vehicle interior when the door 3 is opened.
Further, when the door glass 5 is lowered as shown in FIG. 11 after rain or car washing, the water 130 which soaks into the soft top 1 made of cloth collects on the outer-cabin side edge 110 of the lower side wall surface 12b (the water that collects on the outer-cabin side edge 110 of the lower side wall surface 12b is painted over with black in FIG. 11). Accordingly, the water 130 flows down in the longitudinal direction in which the weather strip 10 extends and collects on the gusset 21 without entering the drainage hole 22. Such a structure has caused a problem that the collected water 130 (132) enters the vehicle interior when the door 3 is opened.
Also, in case the water 130 flows along the header weather strip 9 because of heavy rain or heavy amount of car washing water or wind while the door glass 5 is lowered, the water 130 (133) may directly drip inside the vehicle interior and cause the water leak.
While the above-mentioned prior arts relate to the drainage structure of the weather strip 10 installed on the side edge of the front pillar 4, the weather strips installed on side edges of front pillars of hard top vehicles, not only of retractable roof vehicles, cause the same problems.
In addition, the drainage structures of the weather strip according to the Japanese unexamined Patent Publications No. 2006-264594 and 10-71860 do not provide measures to prevent the water 130 which is collected on the outer-cabin side edge 110 of the lower side wall surface 12b of the hollow seal member 12 forming the weather strip 10 from flowing frontward in the longitudinal direction of the weather strip 10 and along the top end 5a of the door glass 5, and finally entering the vehicle interior.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide the drainage structure of the weather strips capable of preventing the rainwater or car-washing water from entering the vehicle interior from the side edges of the front pillars of the retractable roof vehicles or the hard top vehicles.